Legion & The Lakeshore Mine

Kirkland Lake’s branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 87, is one of the oldest branches in the province. It was founded in January of 1927 in a meeting attended by 23 local veterans in Kirkland Lake. At the time, the branch was termed “the Post”, and by March 11 that same year, it boasted a membership of 70 veterans. Membership reached an all time high in December of 1956, with 508 paid-up veterans.

In July of 1928, a building was erected by Frank “Shorty” Huff, a local contractor, on the corner of Woods Street and Government Road West where Branch 87 operated almost continuously for 42 years. The Building, the “Wright House” was in tribute to Bill Wright who was instrumental in aiding in the development of the local legion and commemorative efforts in the community. The branch also briefly operated out of the basement of the post office, as well as the Finnish Hall before moving to their present location. The present Legion was once the Wright Hargreaves Shaft House, which bordered “Kirkland Lake” to the West.

The current legion overlooks what was once Kirkland Lake & the Lake Shore Mine’s property to the West, owned by Sir Harry Oakes, and at the center of the Kirkland Lake camp. The Lake Shore Mine was incorporated in February of 1914, with four claims, four fractionals, and 171 acres. It was built on a theory, as Harry Oakes hypothesized that gold ran under the lake which gave Kirkland Lake its namesake. In the early days of the mine, Harry Oakes was so short on cash that he had to pay his employees with Lake Shore stock. Not everyone was willing to accept this kind of payment, but those who did eventually became very rich.

In the short span of 20 years, the Lake Shore Mine went from being one man’s dream to the largest gold mine in the Western Hemisphere. It milled 17,208,323 tons of ore in its lifespan, producing 8,602,791 ounces of gold. Around the same time many mines were experiencing decline, and following several significant rock bursts, and declining profits, the Lake Shore Mine closed in 1965. Still today, Kirkland Lake surrounds its former property, and its memory lives on.